Horrible food! I ordered the pinakbit it came with one dirty shrimp — a waste of money. Place is filthy and not friendly at all! .I cannot recommend this place this was not a first time visit their steam buns are the only thing I would consider.
Erika M.
Place rating: 4 San Diego, CA
I love when you walk in you see all the Filipino food! And then it’s surrounded by baked gods like cheese balls. I ordered a 2 item. Pancit, sisig, and this beef dish with quail eggs. They WOWED me when they started packing on the pansit, she even gave me 2 items worth of sisig and a seperate bowl of the beef dish. I loved how they pack it in there, so generous. I usually come here for their cheese balls. I def recommend that. The staff is all really friendly, even the cooks. The only reason why I gave them 4 stars is because the sisig was kind of soggy and the crunchy part was really tough to chew. It could have been better quality.
Crissy L.
Place rating: 1 San Diego, CA
Fresh food means everything to me and the 5 lumpia I received were not fresh!!! Cold Old veggies bruised! I think they make them this morning or yesterday horrible! Good thing it was only $ 2 but I was still mad because I wasted money! Sweet and sour sauce was good! Lumpia were bigger than normal would have been good if it was fresh and hot! And not all busted open like rats been chewing on them!
Alan N.
Place rating: 4 Oklahoma City, OK
Small ma/pa shop. We usually only come here for the lumpia so I can’t review much food but the staff here are great. They have plenty of food to choose from and a lot of people seem to come here just to relax. Come and try their lumpia, it’s good stuff.
Christina V.
Place rating: 4 Los Angeles, CA
The four stars is for the turon. They are basically eggrolls stuffed with banana, fried, and covered with a caramelized sugar glaze. They sell out by mid-afternoon, so get them early! The breads on the shelves aren’t always that fresh, but my family likes the massive cheese«danishes». I’ve come here to buy breads and pasteries as gifts for people because the food is unique. Service is usually slow even if there are only 2 other customers than you. It’s a family business. I usually see Filippino customers here so I’m pretty sure the food here is authentic.
Tuyet N.
Place rating: 4 San Diego, CA
I can’t comment on the hot food available here except it’s point point style. Meaning everything is cook and laid out ready for order. Kind of like Panda Express. I come here for the lumpia for office potluck a. It’s perfectly wrapped, crispy, and cheap for a party tray.
Kasey G.
Place rating: 5 La Mesa, CA
Pre ordered food for a party and the party ended up getting cancelled same day. Had to cut the order in half last minute. They were totally cool about it and thanked me for letting them know. Will def come back for any future orders.
Mike g.
Place rating: 1 San Diego, CA
This place sucks. I ordered a tofu/vegetable dish with fried rice. The fried rice taste like old fryer oil. The other dish had no flavor. I through my $ 6.40 meal into the trash after 4 bites. I looked around for health code violations. I saw a pickup truck with an open bed transporting horse carrots and other veg. I saw carrots on the pavement with stacks of styrofoam containers on the pavement too. I hope the health department closes this place. In fact I am so mad I will file a complaint tomorrow.
Chelsea M.
Place rating: 4 University City, San Diego, CA
As a student at UCSD, living far away from home there’s only so much time before ya girl starts not only craving, but needing Filipino food in her life. And that is exactly why Cristy’s has become my go to spot. I’ve been frequenting this joint for the past four years and I do not plan on stopping anytime soon. I’m always greeted with a smile and someone ready to assist me. To this day I am still surprised and grateful for the portion sizes here at Cristys. When ordering a two item combo, the first item is always overflowing from one section of the tray to the next and even onto the rice itself. Which leads to the second item needing to be put in a separate container. It leaves a lot of food leftover for baon. But be warned your rice to meat ratio will be off! My favorites? Hands down the sisig and adobong pusit. And if I’m craving something sweet I definitely will order the turon. Some of the best I’ve had in my 21 years of life~ Of course the food won’t nearly be good as your mom or Lola’s but when you don’t have access to those people in your life, Cristys is a great alternative.
Trina B.
Place rating: 3 San Diego, CA
I give the restaurant 3 stars because the ladies that work there are really nice. But food was less than mediocre. Portion size, price, and food quality was subpar, as compared with Tita’s Kitchen in National City. Too far? The drive is worth it! For being in the center of Manila Mesa, I had high expectations. Sadly I was disappointed. I probably won’t be back. But if you ask me where the best Filipino food is in San Diego, I’ll let you know, «Tita’s», hands down… At least for now. Tell me one that’s better and I’ll give it a shot. =) Pros: friendly staff, takes debit/credit, Cons: food is subpar, portion size too small for what you pay
Jenay L T.
Place rating: 4 San Diego, CA
This place is my go to for local Filipino food. Their lumpia is delicious and decent prices! The only time I had a poor experience with Cristy’s was the most recent Manny Pac fight(basically a holiday). My dad pre-ordered/paid for 100 pieces of lumpia. They said it would be ready by noon, we went to pick it up, they said it wasn’t ready & to come back at 5. Apparently they told everyone to come back at 5. When we showed up, there was a line out the door and around the building. EVERYONE was waiting to their large order to bring to their party. It was absolutely unorganized and ridiculous. You would think they would have it together & only accept pre-orders till a certain date & have customers come at assigned times, due to high volume. We cancelled our order and asked for a refund the next day. Which they did with no problem & apologized.
Brian W.
Place rating: 5 San Diego, CA
I ordered 12 pieces of turon(banana lumpia) for a co-worker’s birthday party. I phoned in the order and picked them up the following day from Cristy’s. I arrived and told them about the turon, and it was given to me immediately and paid for them promptly. The turon was very delicious, and a big hit at the party!
James F.
Place rating: 4 San Diego, CA
I’ve eaten here several times before, and it’s always been a decent experience. The target demographic is clearly the native Filipino community as none of the food displays are labelled, but the staff have no problem answering any questions an oblivious white guy like myself might have. They’ve never failed to serve with a smile so far :) The interior is small, tightly squeezing 17 seats into less than 150 square feet of space, but there are plenty of windows looking out onto a sidewalk lined with a few colorful flowers, so it’s a nice spot for some alone time. The food itself is straight Filipino home cooking with lots to choose from, monstrous portion sizes and all for only a few dollars. Don’t be afraid to try something new; I still can’t identify almost any of the stuff I’ve eaten here but I’ve never been grossed out or disappointed, it’s pretty decent. The pan de sol(when warm) is absolutely amazing, though!
Sara Bella R.
Place rating: 1 San Diego, CA
This review is for their«hot foods» in the late afternoon, around dinner time. Just don’t. The food is cold and soggy from sitting in a puddle of oil. These types of restaurants are only good for lunch since they don’t cook new foods for dinner.
Jenelyn A.
Place rating: 4 San Diego, CA
This place may be small but if someone is in front they greet you right away. I like their squid dish but if i could change anything id ask with no plastic. If u know what i mean.
Justin T.
Place rating: 4 Escondido, CA
OK I’m giving it a four star but there are a few things to consider before you eat here. This place is small, so great for take out. On a hot day though never eat here! So many places in San Diego either don’t use, or don’t have AC, and I hate that. Other than that, the food is very authentic, and inexpensive. I love good Filipino food, its very different. Chicken adobo with pancit noodles Mmmmm mmmm. If your feeling adventurous or you already know what good Filipino food is, come here :) You will most likely really enjoy it, unless its a hot day and you decide to dine in…
Amy Y.
Place rating: 3 San Diego, CA
The food is ok here, there’s no air conditioning and service is pretty slow so be prepared to be a bit sweaty in the summertime. They do give you a lot of food for the amount that it costs, but the food is only ok, the pancit is bland, chicken adobo was super dry, i did like the squid option that they had though. Everything here is pretty oily though, so if you’re more of a health conscious person, i wouldn’t suggest eating here. The biggest complaint is the cashier though. That’s honestly 100% of why service is slow here. She makes everyone wait in line, so you could be stuck behind 4 people that ordered huge to go orders(which is what happened to me) and still have to wait to pay for your food that’s sitting there getting cold to wait for the people to get their big orders done. Doesn’t make any sense to me, but not only that, the cashier let another customer cut in front of me and order his food and paid before me… WTF!!! Granted I was pretty hungry when all this happened but you’d think she would’ve been smarter about the cashier register– let the people who already have their food pay, the other people have to wait anyways. meh, ok end rant. The older lady here was very sweet though. If i ever do get another hankering for phillipino food, i’d probably go elsewhere just because of the cashier… ridiculous!
Mary I.
Place rating: 5 El Monte, CA
I love their SISIG!!! The place is very small with limited seating. But the food is so good that you’ll keep coming back for more. It’s a fast food turo turo(point point) type place. The usuals are sinigang, bistek, pansit, pusit, kaldereta, afritada, and kare kare — my Lola’s(grandma) favorite with bagoong on the side. They also have baked goods and desserts. When I’m here I usually grab 3 bags of siopao, containing 6 siopaos a bag. Freshly made and ready by 12noon. They have chicken and pork but I think the chicken siopao is much better. My mom loves getting turon here, it’s super good. Unfortunately, the halo halo here is not that good with very little variety in ingredients. I recommend going to Chow King down the street for that. I still give this place 5 stars because Cristy’s has made good food memories here for me and lunch dates I have with my Mom and Lola :)
Tiffany A.
Place rating: 4 San Diego, CA
My spot to get sisig for any party! I’ve been coming here with my mom since I was little… now I go here on my own for some good Filipino grub. When I was small I loved getting the pastries and chicharon. I don’t remember my getting too much more. Nowadays, I come here for their combo plates and as mentioned above the sisig! Definitely a party favorite if you’re looking to feed your guests!
Jonalie I.
Place rating: 4 San Diego, CA
Woke up with a hankering for an empanada, so I decided to give Cristy’s Bakery a try. Along with a couple of chicken empanadas, I got the milkfish and squid with pancit. The empanadas were okay. I haven’t had one in years, so I’m not sure how a really good one should taste. The milkfish(bangus) was okay; I think it needed salt. The pancit was pretty good. My favorite was the squid though. It brought back memories of my mom’s cooking back in the day. Filipino comfort food craving satisfied.